Caroline Bedell Thomas Papers, 1917-1985
1 box (2.5 linear ft.)
Collection number: MS 162
Terms of Access and Use:
The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.
This collection has not been fully processed and therefore may be difficult to use.
Copyright to unpublished materials may be owned by the creator, or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.
Caroline Cunningham Bedell was born in Ithaca, NY on 29 Nov 1904, the daughter of Mary Louise Crehore (Smith College 1892) and Frederick Bedell, a physics professor at Cornell University. She graduate summa cum laude from Smith College in 1925 and from Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1930. She married Dr. Henry Thomas (1891-1966) in 1934 and together they had three children, Henry III (b. 1935), Eleanor (b. 1939), and Mary (b. 1940). Caroline Thomas was simultaneously building an impressive medical career devoted to cardiovascular research. She joined the teaching staff of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1935 and was on the clinic staff. At the same time, she served as physician at the Bryn Mawr School for Girls, 1935-38 and as a civilian consultant to the Army Surgeon General during World War II. She also maintained a private practice, 1938-70. Dr. Thomas was best known for her research. She proposed and demonstrated the prophylactic value of sulfanilamide for rheumatic heart disease and in 1946 began the longitudinal study of predictors of heart disease, cancer, and suicide known as the Precursors Study. She directed the Study until 1984. Throughout a long and distinguished career she won many fellowships and awards including an honorary Sc.D. from Smith College (1955), and had the distinction of being one of the first named to the Johns Hopkins Alumnae Association Hall of Fame (1993). She died 14 Dec 1997.
The papers of Caroline Bedell Thomas include correspondence, published articles and newspaper clippings, and photographs. The bulk of the collection consists of family correspondence, including two volumes of privately published World War II letters between Bedell Thomas and her husband, as well as a series of letters between Bedell Thomas and Dorothy Dushkin.
NOTE: There is no container list online for this finding aid. You may contact the Sophia Smith Collection if you want one sent to you.
The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.
This collection has not been fully processed and therefore may be difficult to use.
Copyright to unpublished materials may be owned by the creator, or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
Caroline Bedell Thomas Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
Periodic additions to collection are expected and may not be reflected in this record.
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Sophia Smith Collection
Smith College
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